Jak Ruiz

Jak Ruiz (American, b. 1982) is a self-taught, colorblind artist based in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Originally from a small town in the American Southwest, Ruiz came to painting in his late twenties after first pursuing poetry. His work blends classical form with expressive, layered mark-making shaped by influences like cubism, photography, and automatic painting.

Ruiz’s current series explores memory, power, and personal history through dreamlike landscapes and shifting figures. Working in oil, he builds and removes layers over time—mirroring how memory evolves and distorts.